Well, of course I have found this website because our family was scammed by Fresh Start in Warner Springs. Like others, I was convinced by an "independent" counseling service that Fresh Start would be the best place for my brother-in-law. 5 days into the program (last Friday), we received a call from him that they were trying to brainwash him and making him read L. Ron Hubbard books and "stare into another guy's eyes for hours." At first we thought he was hallucinating from coming off drugs. However, we looked into it and were shocked to find out that they are affiliated with Narconon and Scientology!! We flew out there immediately on Sunday and removed him from the facility and placed him in a new, NON-NarCONon facility. Now the fight is on to get our money back. We contacted a few lawyers who said that our case is too small (we paid $30,000). Narconon's lawyer, Bruce, we have on a recorded phone call with my husband, said we will most likely get a refund, but it will be prorated and could take 2 months. However, we need the money ASAP to pay for the other rehab, who are being so nice and letting us pay when we get our refund. I'm starting to get nervous, though, because we are always directed to Bruce, not the claims department. Does anyone have any advice on this? I've seen other posts on refunds, but they seem to be center specific. Thanks in advance for the advice.

P.S. The craziest part is that I grew up and still live near Clearwater, FL... Scientology's headquarters! Never in my life would I have imagined that I would be scammed by them.

I'd like to encourage you to make a complaint on http://RipOffReport.com because there is some evidence that it will get their attention and help you to get a refund more quickly. You might also complain to the California Attorney General. The more noise people make, the sooner they seem to get refunds.

I'm going to enable personal messaging for you (PMs) so I can send you some additional information privately. Mary McConnell may also be able to send you the names of some lawyers who might take your case. At the very least, you should be able to find a lawyer to send a strongly worded letter to Bruce Haddrill.

Thank you so much for this help. I am going to draft a letter today to the government agencies and my husband is going to start calling around for lawyers. Ugh... how can the government let them be in business? I just don't understand.

Is the lawyer name Bruce Haldwell? If so I sat in in office in Nv. in the old train station, as he told me how narconon save his life . His drug of choice was coke. Now he was there lawyer! He had to be nice to me because I had complete POWER OF ATTORY over the family menber I put in there. Took him one month to void my power, & take control of all asset. I belive he would have been disbar if he didn't work for narconon. He does work the Cali. narconon also. Last # I had on him Cell# 818-303-6609 Nv. office 775-726-3158 Do your homework look him up in the state bar assc. Again good luck.

Thank you so much for this help. I am going to draft a letter today to the government agencies and my husband is going to start calling around for lawyers. Ugh... how can the government let them be in business? I just don't understand.

You're welcome. We don't understand how they're allowed to stay in business either. Good luck and let us know what happens.

Thank you all so much for your advice. Still in shock over all of this. Yes, Bruce is the lawyer. Very "interesting" about his past and current career. Nothing is shocking to me anymore regarding these people. I'm just so thankful that my brother-in-law was strong enough and smart enough to snuff out their scam and brainwashing quickly.

Is the lawyer name Bruce Haldwell? If so I sat in in office in Nv. in the old train station, as he told me how narconon save his life . His drug of choice was coke. Now he was there lawyer! He had to be nice to me because I had complete POWER OF ATTORY over the family menber I put in there. Took him one month to void my power, & take control of all asset. I belive he would have been disbar if he didn't work for narconon. He does work the Cali. narconon also. Last # I had on him Cell# 818-303-6609 Nv. office 775-726-3158 Do your homework look him up in the state bar assc. Again good luck.

Yes, as 10oriocookies said, his name is Arthur Bruce Haddrill . He's licensed in Michigan but not practicing there. He is in-house council for Narconon Fresh Start ( all facilities CA, NV, CO and TX). He is a Narconon graduate and a scientologist. His brother is Richard Haddrill, also a scientologist http://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-haddrill/ Richard and wife Kelly are originally from GA.

I am a volunteer advocate for victims of the Narconon scam. I am a former scientologist. I post anonymously. Mary McConnell is my long time nom de plume. Feel free to contact me for assistance in righting the wrongs.

Well, of course I have found this website because our family was scammed by Fresh Start in Warner Springs. Like others, I was convinced by an "independent" counseling service that Fresh Start would be the best place for my brother-in-law. 5 days into the program (last Friday), we received a call from him that they were trying to brainwash him and making him read L. Ron Hubbard books and "stare into another guy's eyes for hours." At first we thought he was hallucinating from coming off drugs. However, we looked into it and were shocked to find out that they are affiliated with Narconon and Scientology!! We flew out there immediately on Sunday and removed him from the facility and placed him in a new, NON-NarCONon facility. Now the fight is on to get our money back. We contacted a few lawyers who said that our case is too small (we paid $30,000). Narconon's lawyer, Bruce, we have on a recorded phone call with my husband, said we will most likely get a refund, but it will be prorated and could take 2 months. However, we need the money ASAP to pay for the other rehab, who are being so nice and letting us pay when we get our refund. I'm starting to get nervous, though, because we are always directed to Bruce, not the claims department. Does anyone have any advice on this? I've seen other posts on refunds, but they seem to be center specific. Thanks in advance for the advice.

P.S. The craziest part is that I grew up and still live near Clearwater, FL... Scientology's headquarters! Never in my life would I have imagined that I would be scammed by them.

Welcome and thanks for joining the forum. I'm sorry you were deceived.

Try to get an attorney to send a 10 day demand notice first. Let the lawyer negotiate. Getting a refund is not an easy thing from my experience working with victims of this scam

Here are some attorney names that have had or currently handle cases for plaintiffs against Narconon and it's related groups.

I am a volunteer advocate for victims of the Narconon scam. I am a former scientologist. I post anonymously. Mary McConnell is my long time nom de plume. Feel free to contact me for assistance in righting the wrongs.

Yes, as 10oriocookies said, his name is Arthur Bruce Haddrill . He's licensed in Michigan but not practicing there. He is in-house council for Narconon Fresh Start ( all facilities CA, NV, CO and TX). He is a Narconon graduate and a scientologist. His brother is Richard Haddrill, also a scientologist http://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-haddrill/ Richard and wife Kelly are originally from GA.

I am a volunteer advocate for victims of the Narconon scam. I am a former scientologist. I post anonymously. Mary McConnell is my long time nom de plume. Feel free to contact me for assistance in righting the wrongs.

Hi everyone. I have been reading this site religiously for the last 2 weeks for unfortunate reasons. It is comforting to see that I'm not the first to be duped into sending a loved one to a Narconon facility (Sunshine Summit Lodge) but sad knowing that they will continue.... I am trying to get my money back now, and appreciate all of the posts on this site. One question I have is whether or not anyone has ever gone to an investigative show like 60 minutes, Frontline, etc to show this side of their scam. It seems like most articles focus on the outlandish treatment; its a shame that their shady business practices havent been brought to light in a public venue.

Another question I have, has anyone tried taking legal action against the addiction counselor who takes the hotline calls? I asked the person specifically if she was in any way affiliated with Narconon, to which she said no. Well, turns out that not only is she employed by Narconon, she is also married to the intake coordinator who enrolled my loved one.....As many before, the decision makers in sending our loved one to their facility was based upon the "independent" advise given by the Addiction Specialist. Had we known she was a paid employee of said facility, things would've turned out much differently......

Getting your money back always depends on how long the person attended the program, how one paid for the program, what happened during the stay at the program, what lies were told before paying for the program and what the facility agreement states about refunds. Each case is unique.

Fresh Start agreements are pretty strict. They have tightened them up lately because of all the lawsuits and refund complaints.

If you think your contract was breached and can prove it, you may be able to get money back. Take a look at this questionnaire and if you'd like my assistance, copy it and fill it in and email it to me at the address at the end of the article. Everything is confidential.

I am a volunteer advocate for victims of the Narconon scam. I am a former scientologist. I post anonymously. Mary McConnell is my long time nom de plume. Feel free to contact me for assistance in righting the wrongs.

By the way, the Narconon Reviews website is not affiliated with Narconon in any way. Welcome to Tipping Point!

Adamn,

If you have any questions about the program being scientology please just ask. Also, make sure you log all contact with NN. Who did you talk to, what did they say, when did they say it. Get an attorney as well. Getting your money back should be no problem.

Thank you for the info. We are waiting to see if they offer us a refund (we sent them a reqeust for repayment), if not, we will be hiring a lawyer.

The "leaked docs" showing the script they use is very helpful - it was almost verbatim to what Abby, our Addiction Specialist told us. She's also who told us she was in no way affiliated to Narconon....yet two other people at the hotline told me she is an employee of Narconon and later I found out that she is married to an Intake Coordinator.....lovely...if nothing else happens, we will be filing complaints againt her license...